The present invention generally relates to electrochemical cells (batteries), and more particularly relates to a cost-efficient alkaline electrochemical cell that efficiently utilizes electrochemically active materials.
Alkaline electrochemical cells are commercially available in standard cell sizes. Examples of cylindrical alkaline cells are commonly known as LR6 (AA), LR03 (AAA), LR14 (C) and LR20 (D). Battery manufacturers have made great strides to improve the capacity of the cells to improve the length of time that electrical devices can be powered, while at the same time constantly striving to reduce the cost of the battery. Alkaline electrochemical cells employ electrochemically active materials within the positive electrode (cathode) and the negative electrode (anode), which generally are more expensive than other internal cell components. These electrochemically active materials include zinc employed within the anode and manganese dioxide employed within the cathode.
In order to optimize the performance of the battery cell, the quantity of zinc employed in the anode and the quantity of manganese dioxide employed in the cathode are appropriately selected. A simple reduction in the amount of active materials may reduce the cost of the battery, but will usually adversely decrease the battery's “run time,” which is the length of time the battery will power a device. Contrarily, an increase in the amount of active material, such as zinc, may result in unacceptable leakage of electrolyte under certain conditions and will generally increase the cost of the battery.
What is needed is an efficient electrochemical cell that offers adequate performance at a competitive cost. In particular, it is desirable to effectively utilize the electrochemically active materials within the cell such as to advantageously achieve a more cost-efficient battery cell.